Personalized Halloween Pumpkin Designs and Pumpkin Cookies

 Halloween pumpkin carving:

Make your own zombie face pumpkin!

Original image of my weird face image that lead to spooky template (blue) and carved pumpkin

Pumpkin lanterns are one of the traditions for the Halloween and pumpkin carving can be real art and is that messy and fun activity for the whole family that you don't want to miss!

This year I got an idea to personalize Halloween pumpkins. Simply, to put my own zombie face in a pumpkin lantern. My kids really loved the idea, because they wanted to put their own zombie faces on the pumpkin and same old templates are boring and recycled every year, so you can find similar copies all over the internet.

When my daughter created my own "spooky" image with some computer software, I got the idea. The image just needs to be transferred to the pumpkin where the spooky image belongs! So I needed  printed template.
Ideas and images multiplied after that.
If you're a fan of seeing your zombie face on the pumpkin, I'll show you how I did it. The only complex task is to create your zombie/scary-face. And today, that's not that hard, with a help of your computer, and programs like Picasa etc. You can deform photo first and than create the image you'll use to create your template. That way it will be more spooky, like my image on the previous photo.

Prepare pumpkin

Carve your image

Gollum example:

Gollum template creation process: from photo to edited photo image to template drawing

To show you how, I'll use here image of not that-human character - Gollum (The Lord of the Rings), always very popular in my home ( see my Birthday cakes). He already has pretty crazy face!

Here is how: 

Transfer image to translucent paper

Created image from the photo

For complete steps go to my Craft blog: "Zexxy's wife - crafts"

Create a template by drawing closed lines (black area must be cut out)

At the end you'll have your masterpiece - personalized Halloween pumpkin!

More of personalized templates

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 HALLOWEEN recipes

To use seeds from the carved pumpkin, here is a great cookie recipe:

Pumpkin seed and Bran cookies

1/2 stick of butter
0.1 l olive oil
1/4 cup light brown sugar
1/4 cup of whole sugar (sucanat)
1 egg, beaten
2 cups whole wheat flour
1/3 cup pumpkin seeds

Beat sugars, butter and oil until pale. Beat in the egg, mix in flour. Stir in chopped seeds and leave some (12) aside for decoration.  On a greased pan, put twelve equal spoons of the mix, flattening a bit each and decorating with remaining seeds before the bake. Bake 10-15 minutes and cool.
 Fun Halloween cookies! To take to school party



These two are made by my daughter!



Amazing job Nat!



More Halloween around a town:



Real food Halloween in some grocery stores!



More pumpkin ideas

Happy Halloween!!